After Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop left Game 2 in the third period with an undisclosed injury, the media was swarming the Lightning goalie to find out exactly what was wrong with him.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper and Bishop wouldn’t reveal any information about the injury, and Bishop continued to play in Game 3, but sat out Game 4.
Not until after the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup on Monday, Bishop finally said he was playing with a torn groin since Game 2.
I can’t feel much anyway right now. Just unfortunate. Didn’t feel good out there, but was able to get through it, Bishop said.
Cooper said he wasn’t worried about playing Bishop after Game 2 because every player player dreams of reaching and playing in the Stanley Cup Final, and the Lightning coach didn’t want to take Bishop’s chance away.
You sit here and think. He played, I’m probably going to get this wrong, but probably 27 games in a row before an injury took him out. At the pinnacle of the sport, going through the end of the regular season, the playoffs, for him to continue to rise in this occasion for somebody that never had been in the situation before, you can’t say enough about what he did for us.
The Lightning goalie recorded a .939 save percentage after Game 2, which means he played really well with a torn groin.